Mike Gabler, the winner of “Survivor” Season 43, said Wednesday that he will donate his $1 million winnings to veterans in the name of his father.
Gabler, 52, a heart valve specialist, is the first winner in the show’s history to donate the entire prize to charity.
The Idaho resident insists he is “rich at home” because of family and friends. Gabler said he wants to help people who need the money more, which follows through with what he told CBS from the start.
“There are people who need that money more,” Gabler told host Jeff Probst on the show after he won.
“And I’m going to donate the entire prize — the entire million-dollar prize, in my father’s name, Robert Gabler, who was a Green Beret — to veterans in need who are recovering from psychiatric problems, PTSD, and curb the suicide epidemic,” Gabler added.
Gabler said multiple people from his family, including uncles, and friends were in the military, and that is why the cause is important to him. He also said he does not come from money, but he is very fortunate.
The second oldest winner in the show’s history says he will spend his time becoming a better person for his wife, children and family now that the show is over.
“I need to be a better husband, I need to be a better father, I need to be a better brother, I need to be a better son. I’m going to do all those things just like all of us are going to do that when we go home,” Gabler said after the show.
